Asia Inc. heads to Washington as politics become paramount

WASHINGTON -- It was the wee hours of Jan. 16 when Rieko Shimizu clicked "send" on an email to her corporate headquarters in Japan. Like most Asian companies with offices in Washington, Shimizu, who represents Japanese drink maker Suntory in the U.S. capital, had quickly prepared a summary of the Iowa Republican caucuses that had concluded hours earlier.

Former President Donald Trump had won by a 30-point margin, and the implications were being digested across the world. A Trump victory in November’s presidential election could have a decisive impact on the U.S. economy, not to mention relations with some of Suntory’s other major markets, notably India, the world's biggest whisky consumer.